Packaging material

ABSTRACT

A packaging material comprising a plurality of flexible strips of material integrally interconnected to one another along one end thereof so as to form a unitary mass and so that the strips of material are intertwineable with one another to form a resilient tuft. The strips of material interconnected via a border have a bonding material disposed thereon for bondingly connecting the packaging material to a container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/222,169, filedSep. 8, 2005; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/041,377, filedJan. 24, 2005, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.10/358,695, filed Feb. 3, 2003, now abandoned; which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 10/119,170, filed Apr. 8, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No.6,561,356; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/716,980, filedNov. 20, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,300; which is a continuation ofU.S. Ser. No. 09/416,614, filed Oct. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,189,699; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/087,737, filedMay 29, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,637; which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/892,675, filed Jul. 14, 1997,now U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,280; the contents of each of theabove-referenced patent applications being hereby expressly incorporatedherein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to packaging materials forpackaging articles, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation,to a packaging material which includes a plurality of resilient stripmembers integrally interconnected to one another to form a unitarycushioning unit.

2. Brief Description of the Related Art

In the process of shipping an article from one location to another, thearticle is typically placed in a container along with a protectivepackaging material to fill the voids about the article and to cushionthe article during the shipping process. One common protective packagingmaterial is comprised of a plurality of plastic foam, peanut-shapedmembers which are commonly known as “styrofoam peanuts.” An advantage inusing styrofoam peanuts is the ease with which they may be disposedabout an article positioned in a container by simply pouring thestyrofoam peanuts from a dispenser.

However, while styrofoam peanuts have been widely accepted in thepackaging industry, they are not without disadvantages. For example, thelight weight and flowability of the styrofoam peanuts results in heavierobjects gravitating through the peanuts to the bottom of the containerwhere the object can be damaged. Also, while the flowability of thestyrofoam peanuts facilitates the introduction of the peanuts into acontainer, the receiver of the package is left with having to deal withthe peanuts upon removal of the article from the container in the formof having to clean up the mess left by the peanuts which are easilyscattered upon removal of the article from the container.

These and other disadvantages associated with the disposal of styrofoampeanuts has made paper protective packaging material a popularalternative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and renewable, making itan environmentally responsible choice. However, like styrofoam peanuts,paper packaging materials is not without disadvantages in that paper,particularly shredded paper, can be inconvenient to clean up and todispose of due to the lack of cohesiveness of the packaging material. Inaddition, due to the lack of resiliency in paper products, large amountsof paper are typically required to provide the bulk needed to adequatelycushion an object.

Strips of sheet material formed into tufts have also been used for manyyears. More specifically, material known as decorative grass has beenused in fruit baskets, Easter baskets, and picnic baskets and for otherdecorative purposes. In addition, decorative grass has been use as apackaging material. The decorative grass of the prior art has beenproduced by numerous methods and from a variety of materials such aspolymeric materials, paper, cellophane or the like. Typically, suchmaterials are cut and shredded to produce segments having predetermineddimensions. As such, decorative grass, like styrofoam peanuts and papermaterials described above, can be inconvenient to clean up and todispose of.

To this end, a packaging material is needed that includes a plurality ofresilient strip members interconnected to one another so as to form aunitary cushioning unit. It is to such a packaging material that thepresent invention is directed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a packaging material for use infilling baskets and protecting articles during a shipping process. Thepackaging material includes a plurality of strips of flexible materialintegrally interconnected to one another along one end thereof so as toform a unitary mass and so that the strips of material areintertwineable with one another to form a resilient tuft.

The present invention is also directed to a packaging materialcomprising a flexible sheet of material having a border with a first endhaving a plurality of the narrow strips of material extending therefromand a second end having a plurality of narrow strips of materialextending therefrom such that the strips of material are integrallyinterconnected to one another so as to form a unitary mass and such thatthe strips of material are intertwineable with one another to form aresilient tuft.

The tuft formed from the plurality of strips of material may beincorporated into a package which additionally includes a container andan article positioned within the container. The tuft is arranged aboutthe article to substantially surround the article positioned within thecontainer. The tuft may also be caused to bond to the article and thecontainer. In this manner, the tuft will function as a protectivepackaging material which fills any voids and/or which cushions thearticle during a shipping process.

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tuft of packaging material constructedin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a strip of material used to form thetuft of packaging material of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fractional, cross-sectional view of the strip ofmaterial shown in FIG. 2 taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a system for making the strip ofmaterial of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a basket having a tuft of packagingmaterial disposed therein with a plurality of objects displayed on thetuft.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a package illustrating the tuft ofpackaging material used as a packaging material for cushioning anarticle during a shipping process.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a mass of styrofoam peanuts constructedin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sheet of packaging materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a system for making thepackaging material of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a portion of a web of slitted material.

FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway, perspective view of a basket showing thesheet of packaging material of FIG. 8 inserted therein.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a package illustrating the tuft of thepackaging material of FIG. 8 used to cushion an article during ashipping process.

FIG. 13 is perspective view of another embodiment of a packagingmaterial constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an exploded, perspective view of the packaging material ofFIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is perspective view of another embodiment of a packagingmaterial constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 is perspective view of another embodiment of a packagingmaterial constructed in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to FIGS. 1-3, atuft 10 of packaging material constructed in accordance with the presentinvention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The tuft 10 is comprised of aplurality of individual strips or strands of material 12 (FIG. 2), eachcharacterized as having a first side 14 and a second side 16. The stripsof material 12 can be fabricated from any flexible sheet of material,including paper, crepe paper, polymeric film, laminated polymeric film,and waxed paper, for example. The sheet of material may have printedmatter and/or embossed pattern on at least one side thereof, and theembossed pattern can be either in register or out of register with theprinted pattern.

The printed pattern can be printed on the sheet of material in aconventional matter so that when the sheet of material is slit and cutto produce the strips of material 12, at least a substantial portion ofthe strip of material 12 contains at least a portion of the printedpattern. Further, different colors can be employed to provide theprinted pattern on the sheet of material.

The sheet of material can also be embossed so as to provide the sheet ofmaterial with an embossed pattern. Further, the sheet of material can beprovided with an embossed pattern as well as a printed pattern, and theembossed pattern can be either in register or out of register with theprinted material and/or printed design.

The strips of material 12 as briefly described above are referred to as“Easter grass” or “decorative grass”, and as mentioned above, decorativegrass has been used for many years for filling fruit baskets, Easterbaskets, and picnic baskets and for other decorative and packagingpurposes. The decorative grass of the prior art has been produced bynumerous methods and from a variety of materials, such as those listedabove. Typically, such materials are shredded and cut to producesegmented strips having predetermined dimensions. While the prior artmethods for making decorative grass have been widely accepted, newmethods for making decorative grasses with different aesthetic andfunctional qualities have been sought.

One technique for achieving these desired effects is to coat the stripsof material 12 with a bonding material such as an adhesive or cohesivewhereby the individual strips of material 12 are caused to sticktogether when a plurality of the strips of material 12 are amassed toform a tuft, such as the tuft 10 shown in FIG. 1. As best shown in FIG.3, the strip of material 12 is provided with a bonding material 18. Thestrip of material 12 is illustrated in FIG. 3 as being spot coated withthe bonding material 18 on the first side 14 and the second side 16wherein the bonding material 18 is disposed as randomly disposed spotson the first and second sides 14 and 16 of the strip of material 12. Itwill be appreciated, however, that the bonding material 18 may beapplied in such a manner as to substantially cover one or both of thefirst and second sides 14 and 16 of the strip of material 12, or asstrips. Further, the bonding material 18 may be disposed in any of avariety of other patterns such as circles, dots or any other geometricor biomorphic shape, including decorative designs, so long as thebonding material 18 is positioned to function in accordance with thepresent invention.

The term “bonding material” when used herein can mean an adhesive,frequently a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive or anyadhesive/cohesive combination, having adhesive qualities (i.e.,qualities of adhesion or adhesion/cohesion, respectively) sufficient toeffect the connection between adjacent strips of material 12 broughtinto engagement with one another, between the strips of material 12 andan object such as a basket, box or other container and objects disposedin such containers. It will be appreciated that both adhesives andcohesives are well known in the art, and both are commerciallyavailable.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a system 20 for making strips ofmaterial 12 in accordance with the present invention. The system 20includes a roll of material 22 supported on a shaft 24 having a brakeassembly 26 operably connected thereto for controlling the rate ofwithdrawal of the material from the roll of material 22.

The roll of material 22 provides a web of sheet material 27 which ispassed through a slitter 28. The slitter 28 includes a plurality ofspaced apart, stationary knives or other conventional cutting mechanism,which slit or cut the web of sheet material 27 into strips or strands ofdesired width.

An effective amount of the bonding material 18 is next applied to theslitted web of sheet material 27 to provide the desired coverage by aspray assembly 30, or by some other suitable means for applying thebonding material such as, for example, by brushing or rolling thebonding material onto the slitted web of sheet material 27.

After the bonding material 18 has been applied to the slitted web ofsheet material 27, the slitted web of sheet material 27 is passed into acutter 32 where the slitted web of sheet material 27 is cut intopredetermined lengths so as to form the strips of material 12. From thecutter 32, the strips of material 12 are conveyed by a conveyor unit 34,which is in the form of a centrifugal blower, to a storage area (notshown) which may be in the form of a suitable bin, packaging machine, orthe like.

As an alternative to forming the decorative grass from the roll ofmaterial 22, it will be appreciated that the strips of material 12 maybe formed from a polymeric film discharged from a film extrusion diewhich is then chilled prior to the slitting process. Such a method isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,266, entitled “Process for MakingDecorative Grass”, issued to Weder et al. on Sep. 29, 1981, which ishereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Also, while thebonding material 18 is shown herein as being applied to the web of sheetmaterial 27 after the slitting step, it will be appreciated that thebonding material 18 may be applied to the web of sheet material 27 priorto the slitting step or to the formed strips of material 12 after suchare cut to length.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the strips of material 12 tend to curl andform folds during the forming process. It will be appreciated that thesecurls and folds contribute to the resiliency and bulkiness or fluffinessof the tuft 10 produced by amassing and intertwining a plurality of thestrips of material 12. It will be further appreciated that the degree towhich the strips of material 12 are curled and folded can vary dependanton several factors, such as the type of material used to form the stripsof material 12, as well as the type of bonding material applied to thestrips of material 12 and the amount of bonding material applied.

In use, the strips of material 12 are amassed, intertwined, and bondablyconnected to form the tuft 10. FIG. 5 illustrates one use of the stripsof material 12 described above. That is, the tuft 10 fabricated from thestrips of material 12 is shown disposed in a basket 36 and supporting aplurality of objects 38, such as candies or Easter eggs, for display.FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative use for the strips of material 12. InFIG. 6, the tuft 10 fabricated from the strips of material 12 is beingused as a packaging material for protecting an article 40 disposed in acontainer 42. In this manner, the tuft 10 functions as a protectivepackaging material which fills any voids and cushions the article duringtransport.

An advantage of applying the bonding material 18 to the strips ofmaterial 12 is that the degree of springiness or fluffiness of the tuft10 can be controlled. That is, a problem experienced with the use ofsome decorative grasses in the filling of gift baskets and Easterbaskets is that the fluffiness or springiness of the decorative grasscauses objects, such as candy and fruit, displayed on the decorativegrass, to be expelled from the basket or moved to a different positionin the basket. As such, it is desirable to be able to control the amountof resiliency or springiness of the decorative grass. By bonding thestrips of material 12 to one another, the degree to which the strips ofmaterial 12 are able to flex relative to one another can be controlledthrough the amount of bonding material 18 applied to the strips ofmaterial 12 and the tack of the bonding material 18.

Another advantage of having the strips of material 12 bond to oneanother includes the mess associated with loose packing or fillermaterials falling onto the floor or clinging to various objects beingalleviated. Also, the tuft 10 fabricated of the strips of material 12can be caused to adhere or cohere to an object and/or containerresulting in an enhanced packing effect. That is, with loose packingmaterials, the object being packed has a tendency to gravitate throughthe packing material to the bottom of the container thereby reducing theeffectiveness of the packing material. By using the strips of material12 disclosed herein, the cohesiveness of the tuft 10 surrounding theobject prevents the object from gravitating through the decorativegrass.

In addition, the use of a bonding material 18 on the strips of material12 enhances the shape sustaining characteristics of the tuft 10. Whenthe strips of material 12 are amassed to form the tuft 10, each strip ofmaterial 12 is normally bent and folded when a crushing force is appliedto the tuft 10 whereby the strips of material 12 are caused to beflattened thereby giving the tuft 10 a lesser cushioning quality. Withthe strips of material 12 adhered to one another, the strips of material12 are caused to maintain their folds in opposition to forces attemptingto flatten the folds, thereby giving the tuft 10 greater crushresistance and providing enhanced capabilities as a functional packagingmaterial in that the strips of material 12 which are more difficult tocrush would continue to occupy space and create a cushioning effect. Assuch, a lesser quantity of the strips of material 12 provided with thebonding material 18 could have the same cushioning effect and occupy thesame volume as that of a larger quantity of non-treated strips ofmaterial.

In addition to the functional advantages provided by the strips ofmaterial 12, the ability of the strips of material 12 to adhere to oneanother also permits the creation of various decorative effects. Forexample, because the strips of material 12 are able to adhere to oneanother, one may cause the strips of material 12 to clump in a varietyof different configurations. In other words, the strips of material 12treated with the bonding material 18 can be manipulated into a desiredform or shape as to result in a desired decorative effect.

It will be appreciated that the qualities and characteristics of thetuft 10 formed from a plurality of the strips of material 12 can bevaried depending on the number of surfaces of the strip of material 12the bonding material 18 is applied to, the pattern in which the bondingmaterial 18 is applied, and the tackiness of the bonding material 18used.

In addition to the above mentioned advantages of the strips of material12 treated with the bonding material 18, FIG. 7 illustrates the conceptof treating other conventional packaging materials with a bondingmaterial to form a cohesive unit. More specifically, FIG. 7 illustratesa packaging material 50 comprising a plurality of plastic foam, peanutshaped members 52, which are commonly known as “styrofoam peanuts”,coated with a bonding material 54. The bonding material 54 can be anysuitable adhesive or cohesive which can be used to effect the bonding orconnecting of two adjacent styrofoam peanuts 52. Also the “tack” of thebonding material 54 may be varied depending on the bondingcharacteristics desired. The bonding material 54 may be disposed on theouter surface of the styrofoam peanuts 52 by any conventional mannerwhich may include spraying, rolling, or brushing. Also, the bondingmaterial 54 may be applied to the styrofoam peanuts 52 as a solid coat,strips, spots, or any combination thereof.

By treating the styrofoam peanuts 52 with the bonding material 54, theproblems associated with objects gravitating through the peanuts to thebottom of a container is reduced or eliminated and the mess associatedwith the use of styrofoam peanuts 52 is reduced. That is, by thestyrofoam peanuts 52 being maintained as a cohesive unit, they are lesslikely to become scattered across a room or blown by the wind therebyfacilitating reuse or disposal of the styrofoam peanuts 52.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a packaging material 60 constructed inaccordance with the present invention is illustrated. The packagingmaterial 60 includes a sheet of flexible material 62 having a pluralityof individual strips or strands of material 64 extending from a border66 whereby the strips of flexible material 64 are integrallyinterconnected to one another along one end thereof. As such, the stripsof material may be intertwined with one another so as to form aresilient tuft, as described below, while the mess associated with loosepacking or filler materials falling onto the floor or clinging tovarious objects is alleviated.

The packaging material 60 can be fabricated from any flexible sheet ofmaterial, including paper, crepe paper, polymeric film, laminatedpolymeric film, and waxed paper, for example. Further, any thickness orstiffness of the sheet of material 62 may be utilized in accordance withthe present invention so long as the strips of material 64 aresufficiently flexible and resilient to function as a cushioningmaterial, as described herein. The sheet of material 62 preferably has athickness of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil. The sheet of materialmay have printed matter and/or embossed pattern on at least one sidethereof, and the embossed pattern can be either in register or out ofregister with the printed pattern.

The printed pattern can be printed on the sheet of material 62 in aconventional manner so that when the sheet of material is slit and cutto produce the strips of material 64, at least a substantial portion ofthe strip of material 64 contains at least a portion of the printedpattern. Further, different colors can be employed to provide theprinted pattern on the sheet of material 62.

The sheet of material 62 can also be embossed so as to provide the sheetof material 62 with an embossed pattern. Further, the sheet of material62 can be provided with an embossed pattern as well as a printedpattern, and the embossed pattern can be either in register or out ofregister with the printed material and/or printed design.

The sheet of material 62 can be of any shape, configuration or size solong as the sheet of material 62 is sufficiently sized and shaped to beformed into the packaging material 60. For example, the sheet ofmaterial 62 may have a square, rectangular, round, oval, octagonal orasymmetrical shape.

To secure the packaging material 60 within a container, such as a basket68 (FIG. 11), for example, at least one side of the border 66 may beprovided with a bonding material 70. The border 66 is illustrated inFIG. 8 as having a strip of bonding material 70. It will be appreciated,however, that the bonding material 70 may be applied in such a manner asto substantially cover one or both of the first and second sides of theborder 66. Further, the bonding material 70 may be disposed in any of avariety of other patterns such as circles, dots or any other geometricor biomorphic shape, including decorative designs, so long as thebonding material 70 is positioned to function in accordance with thepresent invention.

The term “bonding material” when used herein can mean an adhesive,frequently a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive or anyadhesive/cohesive combination, having adhesive qualities (i.e.,qualities of adhesion or adhesion/cohesion, respectively) sufficient toeffect the connection between the border and an object such as a basket,box or other container. It will be appreciated that both adhesives andcohesives are well known in the art, and both are commerciallyavailable.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a system 72 for making the packagingmaterial 60 in accordance with the present invention. The system 72includes a roll of material 74 which provides a web of sheet material76. The web of sheet of material 76 is passed through a slitter 78. Theslitter 78 includes a plurality of spaced apart knives or otherconventional cutting mechanism, which are capable of slitting or cuttingthe web of sheet material 76 into strips or strands of desired width.The slitter 78 is mounted to an actuator 80 adapted to move the slitter78 between a web engaging position wherein the slitter 78 cuttinglyengages the web of sheet material 76 to form a slit portion 81 (FIG. 10)along the web of sheet material 76 and a non-engaging position whereinthe slitter 78 is disengaged from the web of sheet material to allow forthe formation of a border portion 82 (FIG. 10) as the web of sheetmaterial 76 passes by the disengaged slitter 78. The slit portions 81and the border portions 82 will generally be twice the length of theborder and the strips of an individual unit of the packaging material 60whereby individual units of the packaging material 60 can be formed bybisecting the border portions 82 and the slit portions 81, as designatedin FIG. 10 at numerals 83 a and 83 b, respectively.

An effective amount of the bonding material 70 is next applied to theborder portions 82 created on the slitted web of sheet material 76 toprovide the desired coverage by a spray assembly 84, or by some othersuitable means for applying the bonding material 70 such as, forexample, by brushing or rolling the bonding material 70 onto the borderareas of the slitted web of sheet material 76.

As an alternative, or in addition, to providing the border 66 with thebonding material 70, the strips of material 64 can be coated with abonding material in the manner described above in reference to thestrips of material 12, whereby the individual strips of material 64 ofthe packaging material 60 are caused to stick together when the stripsof material 64 are amassed to form a tuft, as described below. As shownin FIG. 8, the strips of material 64 are provided with a bondingmaterial 85. The strips of material 64 are illustrated in FIG. 8 asbeing spot coated with the bonding material 85 on one side with thebonding material 85 disposed as randomly disposed spots on the strips ofmaterial 64. It will be appreciated, however, that the bonding material85 may be applied in such a manner as to substantially cover one or bothsides of the strips of material 64, or as strips. Further, the bondingmaterial 85 may be disposed in any of a variety of other patterns suchas circles, dots or any other geometric or biomorphic shape, includingdecorative designs, so long as the bonding material 85 is positioned tofunction in accordance with the present invention.

After the bonding material 70 and/or 85 has been applied to the web ofsheet material 76, the slitted web of sheet material 76 is passed into acutter 86 where the slitted web of sheet material 76 is cut intopredetermined lengths so as to form the packaging material 60 by cuttingthe web of sheet material 76 across the slit portion 81 at 83 b andacross the border portion 82 at 83 a, as illustrated in FIG. 10, therebyforming individual units of the packaging material 60 illustrated inFIG. 8.

From the cutter 86, the packaging material 60 is conveyed by a conveyorunit 87 to a packaging area. (not shown) where the individual units ofthe packaging material 60 are packaged. Alternatively, a plurality ofsheets of the packaging material 60 can be stacked and formed into apad. Also, the sheets of the packaging material 60 can be formed into aroll of material. In this instance, the slitted web of sheet material 76would be perforated so as to define individual sheets of the packagingmaterial 60, rather than cut completely, so that the sheets of thepackaging material 60 remain connected to one another and yet can beeasily separated from an adjacent sheet when desired.

The bonding material 70, if present, may have a backing or release strip(not shown). The backing or release strip may be left applied for aperiod of time to the bonding material 70 prior to its use as apackaging material, to protect the bonding qualities of the bondingmaterial 70.

As an alternative to forming the packaging material from the roll ofmaterial 74, it will be appreciated that the packaging material 60 maybe formed from a polymeric film discharged from a film extrusion diewhich is then chilled prior to the slitting process. Such a method isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,266, entitled “Process for MakingDecorative Grass”, issued to Weder et al. on Sep. 29, 1981, which ishereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Also, while thebonding material 70 is shown herein as being applied to the web of sheetmaterial 76 after the slitting step, it will be appreciated that thebonding material 70 may be applied to the web of sheet material 76 priorto the slitting step or to the formed packaging material 60 after suchare cut to length.

In use, the border 66 of the packaging material 60 is preferably securedto the interior surface of a container, such as the basket 68, via thebonding material 70. The border 66 can be secured to the interiorsurface of the basket 68 with the border 66 being oriented in a varietyof different directions. However, one manner of securing the border 66to the interior surface of the basket 68 is to extend the border 66circumferentially along the sidewall of the basket 68. Depending on thelength of the border 66, the border 66 can be extended along thesidewall of the basket in a helical fashion, thereby increasing thedensity of the strips of material 64. With the border 66 secured to thebasket 68, the strips of material 64 can be amassed and intertwined toform a resilient tuft 88. In this manner, the strips of material 64 willsupport a plurality of objects 90, such as candies or Easter eggs, fordisplay, and remain in the basket.

It will be appreciated that the packaging material 60 can be effectivelyutilized without having to secure the packaging material 60 to thebasket 68. In this instance, the packaging material 60 is simply placedin the basket 68 and the strips of material 64 are amassed andintertwined to form the resilient tuft 88.

FIG. 12 illustrates an alternative use for the packaging material 60. InFIG. 12, the tuft 88 fabricated from the strips of material 64 is beingused as a packaging material for protecting an article 91 disposed in acontainer 92. In this manner, the tuft 88 functions as a protectivepackaging material which fills any voids and cushions the article duringtransport.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 and 14, another embodiment of a packagingmaterial 100 is illustrated. The packaging material 100 is constructedof a plurality of sheets of material 102 stacked and bonded together.Each sheet of material 102 is substantially identical to the sheets ofmaterial 62 described above. That is, each sheet of material 102 has aplurality of individual strips or strands of material 104 extending froma border 106 whereby the strips of flexible material 104 are integrallyinterconnected to one another along one end thereof.

The sheets of material 102 are shown in FIG. 13 stacked and bondedtogether at the border 106 with the sheets of material 102 beinggenerally aligned with one another. It will be appreciated that anynumber of sheets of material 102 can be incorporated into the packagingmaterial 100 depending on the density of the strips of material 104desired. It will also be appreciated that the sheets of material 102 canbe stacked and bonded together with the sheets of material 102 arrangedin a variety of other configurations relative to one another, such aswith the strips of material 104 of every other sheet of material 102being oriented in a direction opposite the direction of orientation ofthe adjacent sheets of material 102.

The bonding of the sheets of material 102 can be achieved in anysuitable manner. That is, the sheets of material 102 can be connectedtogether with an adhesive or a cohesive. Where the bonding material is acohesive, a similar cohesive material must be placed on the adjacentsurface for bondingly contacting and bondingly engaging with thecohesive material. The sheets of material 102 can also be connectedtogether with materials which are heat sealable and, in this instance,the adjacent portions of the material must be brought into contact andthen heat must be applied to effect the seal. The sheets of material 102can be connected with a heat sealing lacquer which may be applied to thesheet of material and, in this instance, heat also must be applied toeffect the sealing. It should be understood that the bonding of thesheets of material 102 can be achieved with tape, staples, or any otherconnecting means well known in the art.

To secure the packaging material 100 within a container, such as abasket 68 (FIG. 11), for example, at least one side of the border 106 ofan outermost sheet of material 102 of the packaging material 100 may beprovided with a bonding material. The border 106 is illustrated in FIG.13 as having a strip of bonding material 110. It will be appreciated,however, that the bonding material 110, like the bonding material 70described above, may be applied in such a manner as to substantiallycover one or both of the first and second sides of the border 106.Further, the bonding material 110 may be disposed in any of a variety ofother patterns such as circles, dots or any other geometric orbiomorphic shape, including decorative designs, so long as the bondingmaterial 110 is positioned to function in accordance with the presentinvention. As an alternative, or in addition, to providing the border106 with the bonding material 110, the strips of material 104 can becoated with a bonding material in the manner described above inreference to the strips of material 12 and 64, whereby the individualstrips of material 104 of the packaging material 100 are caused to sticktogether when the strips of material 104 are amassed to form a tuft. Asshown in FIG. 13, the strips of material 64 are provided with a bondingmaterial 112. The strips of material 104 are illustrated in FIG. 13 asbeing spot coated with the bonding material 112. It will be appreciated,however, that the bonding material 112 may be applied in such a manneras to substantially cover one or both sides of the strips of material104, or as strips. Further, the bonding material 112 may be disposed inany of a variety of other patterns such as circles, dots or any othergeometric or biomorphic shape, including decorative designs, so long asthe bonding material 112 is positioned to function in accordance withthe present invention.

The packaging material 100 is used in a manner identical to thatdescribed above in relation to the packaging material 60.

FIG. 15 illustrates another embodiment of a packaging material 120. Thepackaging material 120 is similar to the packaging material 60 describedabove with the exception that the packaging material 120 has strips ofmaterial extending from opposing ends of the border. More specifically,the packaging material 120 includes a sheet of flexible material 122having a plurality of individual strips or strands of material 124extending from one end of a border 126 and a plurality of strips ofmaterial 128 extending from an opposing end of the border 126 wherebythe strips of flexible material 124 and 128 are integrallyinterconnected to one another. As such, the strips of material 124 and128 may be intertwined with one another so as to form a resilient tuft,while the mess associated with loose packing or filler materials fallingonto the floor or clinging to various objects is alleviated.

Like the packaging material 60 and 100 described above, the packagingmaterial 120 may be provided with a bonding material to secure thepackaging material 120 within a container, such as the basket 68 (FIG.11). The border 126 is illustrated in FIG. 15 as having a strip ofbonding material 130.

Also like the packaging material 60 and 100, the packaging material 120may be coated with a bonding material in the manner described above inreference to the strips of material 12, 64 and 104, whereby theindividual strips of material 124 and 128 of the packaging material 120are caused to stick together when the strips of material 124 and 128 areamassed to form a tuft. As shown in FIG. 15, the strips of material 124and 128 are provided with a bonding material 132.

The packaging material 120 is used in a manner identical to thatdescribed above in relation to the packaging material 60.

FIG. 16 illustrates yet another embodiment of a packaging material 140.The packaging material 140 is similar to the packaging material 100described above with the exception that the packaging material 140 isconstructed of a plurality of sheets of material 142 stacked and bondedtogether. Each sheet of material 142 is substantially identical to thesheets of material 122 described above. That is, each sheet of material142 has a plurality of individual strips or strands of materialextending from one side of a border and a plurality of strips ofmaterial extending from an opposing side of the border. The packagingmaterial 140 may also include a bonding material 144 for securing thepackaging material within a container and the strips of material of thepackaging material 140 may be coated with a bonding material 144 wherebythe individual strips of material of the packaging material 140 arecaused to stick together when the strips of material 140 are amassed toform a tuft.

From the above description it is clear that the present invention iswell adapted to carry out the objects and to attain the advantagesmentioned herein as well as those inherent in the invention. Whilepresently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described forpurposes of this disclosure, it will be understood that numerous changesmay be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled inthe art and which are accomplished within the spirit of the inventiondisclosed and as defined in the appended claims.

1. A package, comprising: a container; a packaging material comprising aflexible sheet of material having a plurality of slit portions and aplurality of border portions, at least a portion of the plurality ofslit portions having a plurality of slits extending between two borderportions such that the sheet of material has a plurality of strips ofmaterial interconnected to one another by the border portions, whereinthe plurality of slit portions and the plurality of border portions areintegrally formed of the same flexible sheet of material.
 2. The packageof claim 1, wherein the flexible sheet of material from which thepackaging material is constructed is selected from the group consistingof paper, crepe paper, polymeric film, laminated polymeric film, waxedpaper and combinations thereof.
 3. The package of claim 1, wherein atleast a portion of the flexible sheet of material from which thepackaging material is constructed is provided with a printed patternthereon.
 4. The package of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of theflexible sheet of material from which the packaging material isconstructed is provided with a embossed pattern thereon.
 5. The packageof claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the flexible sheet of materialfrom which the packaging material is constructed is provided with abonding material disposed thereon.
 6. The package of claim 1, whereinthe container is a basket.
 7. A package, comprising: a container; apackaging material comprising a flexible sheet of material having aplurality of slit portions and a plurality of border portions, at leasta portion of the plurality of slit portions having a plurality of slitsextending between two border portions such that the sheet of materialhas a plurality of strips of material interconnected to one another bythe border portions, wherein the plurality of slit portions and theplurality of border portions are integrally formed of the same flexiblesheet of material; and at least one article positioned in the containerand on the packaging material.
 8. The package of claim 7, wherein theflexible sheet of material from which the packaging material isconstructed is selected from the group consisting of paper, crepe paper,polymeric film, laminated polymeric film, waxed paper and combinationsthereof.
 9. The package of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of theflexible sheet of material from which the packaging material isconstructed is provided with a printed pattern thereon.
 10. The packageof claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the flexible sheet of materialfrom which the packaging material is constructed is provided with aembossed pattern thereon.
 11. The package of claim 7, wherein at least aportion of the flexible sheet of material from which the packagingmaterial is constructed is provided with a bonding material disposedthereon.
 12. The package of claim 7, wherein the container is a basket.13. A method of packaging an article, comprising the steps of: providinga container; providing a packaging material comprising a flexible sheetof material having a plurality of slit portions and a plurality ofborder portions, at least a portion of the plurality of slit portionshaving a plurality of slits extending between two border portions suchthat the sheet of material has a plurality of strips of materialinterconnected to one another by the border portions, wherein theplurality of slit portions and the plurality of border portions areintegrally formed of the same flexible sheet of material; and disposingthe packaging material within the container; and positioning at leastone article on the packaging material within in the container.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 wherein, in the step of providing a packagingmaterial, the flexible sheet of material from which the packagingmaterial is constructed is selected from the group consisting of paper,crepe paper, polymeric film, laminated polymeric film, waxed paper andcombinations thereof.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein, in the step ofproviding a packaging material, at least a portion of the flexible sheetof material from which the packaging material is constructed is providedwith a printed pattern thereon.
 16. The method of claim 13 wherein, inthe step of providing a packaging material, at least a portion of theflexible sheet of material from which the packaging material isconstructed is provided with a embossed pattern thereon.
 17. The methodof claim 13 wherein, in the step of providing a packaging material, atleast a portion of the flexible sheet of material from which thepackaging material is constructed is provided with a bonding materialdisposed thereon.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising thestep of bondingly connecting the packaging material to at least one ofthe container and the at least one article.
 19. The method of claim 13wherein, in the step of providing a container, the container is abasket.
 20. The method of claim 13 wherein, in the step of positioningat least one article on the packaging material within in the container,the at least one article is selected from the group consisting of candy,eggs and combinations thereof.